How to Hire a Voice Over
Determine Other Services
When deciding what type of voice over talent you need you should also determine what additional services you require from them. Should a voice actor deliver your scripted audio as a voice only file, what the industry calls “dry,” or do you want a fully produced project complete with music and sound effects? Is it necessary for you to listen in and offer direction via a phone patch during the recording session?
What type of delivery do you require? Most voiceovers today email or ftp files to clients but you might want your files delivered on DVD or CD. For larger projects you may want the talent to use ISDN technology to connect to another production facility. It may even be necessary for the voice talent to record in person at a studio location near you at which point their geographic location becomes a factor.
Define the timeline for your project and remember some types will take longer than others. “”Turn-around time varies from client to client. Most of the time I deliver within 24 hours. Some clients need things back in 10 minutes and if it’s a very large project, the deadline could be weeks or even more,” according to Bob Souer, a professional story-teller and narrator from Charlotte, NC. “Some of my audiobook work is done over several months and when I was recording the Bible; that took 11 months.” It is important to be realistic in your expectations and explain your deadline requirements when contacting potential voice talent.
Be aware that some of these options may add additional costs so make sure you really need them before you add the extra expense to your project.
Tags: actor, audition, Bob Souer, Brian Hart, Brian Mishkin, Caryn Clark, casting, DB Cooper, hire, professional, Stephanie Ciccarelli, talent, Todd Ellis, VO, voice, voiceover
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 2:20 pm and is filed under General, Voice Over. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 19th, 2010 at 2:00 am
How to hire a professional voice | Voices Of Advertising says:[...] friend Brian Hart has prepared a superb article covering all the bases of hiring professional voice talent for your project. If you’d rather, you can download his article as a [...]
February 19th, 2010 at 9:26 am
Brian, thank you for this terrific reference. It answers all the important questions and makes the process of finding us and hiring us very doable.
I am sure I will be quoting you and sending this forward.
Jane Ingalls
February 19th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Jane, thank you very much for taking the time to read it and to post a comment.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
uberVU - social comments says:Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by DavidHoustonVO: RT @HartVoiceOvers How To Hire a Voice Over article is live. A must read if you have never cast VO talent… http://bit.ly/bEcxWw...
March 10th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
This was a great read even for a beginner who is looking to get into the industry on how the atual working-recording, marketing, getting hired, getting paid-works. Thanks for taking the time to write this comprehensive piece Mr. Hart!
March 10th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
uh wordpress thinks i’m spam. i didn’t even figure the comments or this site was built on wp, but now that i look around i can see the anti spam WP protection. seems like they got their back end secured. anyways i came over from the vo-bb where this piece was linked and i read through all 7 pages and felt like i had learned a lot just by taking the time to focus and read through your words of advice. thanks! i will be following the site
March 10th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Lae, thank you very much for taking the time to comment. I’m glad you found the article helpful. Let me know if there’s every anything I can do for you.
September 4th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
My Blog Title says:Another Title…
I wish more folks would use professional VOs….
February 9th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Hi Brian!
This should be mandatory reading for all those looking to hire a voice over talent.
Kudos for this awesome post!!!
February 11th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
Morgan, thanks very much for taking the time to read it.
February 23rd, 2011 at 2:50 am
This is indeed the best article I’ve ever read on voice over hiring. It will save me lots of time and money. Thanks Brian!